Sitting At The Dock

Sitting at the Dock

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Graphite on paper, 7.5" x 11"
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This drawing shows a portion of a larger composition that I am getting ready to transfer to a canvas. The finished painting will show a family group relaxing on a summer afternoon, with the theme of renewal and continuity. Watch for more preparation drawings to come!
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On My Back Door-Step #9

White Berries for the Birds (#9)

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Watercolor on paper 11in x 15in
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It's been chilly for the past few nights. I guess the birds know that it's time to get ready for their winter migration, and they have been descending on the trees and bushes fattening up on berries and bugs.

I have been watching this particular red osier dogwood bush for several days. There have been mixed flocks of adult and juvenile robins, white crowned sparrows, fox sparrows, juncos, chickadees and yellow warblers, and probably more birds that I haven't identified. It's comical to watch the smaller birds zoom in between the branches and the huge robins shake out the entire bush searching for berries and bugs. Those robins can manage to get an entire white berry into their beaks at a time, all the while bouncing around on a bent-over branch.

It's a great comedy to watch!

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On My Back Door-Step #8

Berries and Leaves (#8)
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Watercolor on paper, 11 in x 15 in
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It was a bright sunny afternoon after several days of overcast skies and rain, a bit windy, but there was nothing in the weather to interfere with a great painting session. I was ready for it, and I settled in to enjoy myself.

The sunlight was dappled all through the trees, and throughout the afternoon the masses of leaves I was painting shifted in color from luminescent yellow-green to inky blue-green and back again. The hill in the background did the same in tones of olive-greens and sepias. I was working back and forth to depict what I was seeing at the moment. And I was mixing colors on the fly to match the changes.

Well, now that this painting has dried, I find the colors thin and, well, yes, watered-down. I realize now that I would have had a better results if I had mixed larger quantities of the main colors I was seeing at the beginning, and simply dipped into each batch as the light changed throughout the afternoon.

This is part of preparedness, having enough containers and enough surface area to mix colors comfortably and efficiently. And also having the foresight to bring enough clean water to keep my paint from getting muddy. Oh and paper towels to blot up runny wet splashes that go in the wrong direction.

We learn from our experiences.

On My Back Door-Step #7

Red Osier Dogwood Branch (#7)

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Watercolor on paper 11in x 15in

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It was another rainy day, and in order to do today's painting indoors, I picked a branch of Red Osier Dogwood, a bush with pearly white berries and flashy red stalks, from my back door-step and I put it into a jar as my model.

I was still penciling in my drawing when I realized what was happening. My still life was withering in front of my eyes. Leaves were flipping over and showing different colors, and stems were curving down with gravity. Negative shapes kept changing, and I had to work really fast to fill in color areas and keep my original composition.

I added a flat dark gray layer to isolate the branch from its background, and I realized effective watercolor sketching means that I need to be able to work very very quickly.

And to do that I need be able to do a lot of visual problem-solving on the run!

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